It is a rare occasion when outdoor writer and political activist, George Smith, doesn’t write about the woes of the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife (MDIFW) lamenting the need to get general tax money to fund the department. My argument has always been that first we need to audit the department and more wisely spend the money that exists, move programs and activities out of fish and game and put them into conservation, agriculture or law enforcement and/or where more appropriate and then see if more money is needed.

Smith’s latest rant, of which he, a bit tongue in cheek, says that the Maine Warden Service, State Police and county Sheriffs won’t like his article, because he doesn’t think they are doing the jobs they are being paid for. And, I think he is right.

When a warden service, paid for with mostly fees collected from licensing of outdoor sports activities, issues more citations for possession of marijuana than trespassing or possessing too many fish, one has to wonder just what is going on. According to Smith, 60% of the entire MDIFW budget goes to the Warden Service and this money is being used to investigate traffic accidents, crime scene investigation, school security, etc.

Instead of crying that MDIFW and the Warden Service need more money to function, Smith suggests fine tuning the department and stop spending outdoor sportsman’s dollars on law enforcement that causes fish and game to suffer.

IRS Direct Deposit: Require the IRS to deposit fees for some services it offers (such as processing payment plans for taxpayers) to the Treasury, instead of allowing it to remain as part of its budget. $1.8 billion savings over ten years.